Rising Stars Founder Paul Savramis Embraces Development and Longevity Over Recruiting in Team Building

When asked about the success of the 2026 Rising Stars teams and the overall Rising Stars program, founder Paul Savramis points to one word: longevity.

Every current Rising Stars team has a core group of boys and girls who have developed together since elementary school. Rather than relying on recruiting, the program emphasizes long-term player development, team chemistry, and relationships built over many years.

Paul Savramis points specifically to the program's flagship 16U team, which enters the end of the summer with a 25–2 record against some of the best competition in the country.

"We couldn't be prouder of this group," Paul Savramis says. "This team started playing together at Rising Stars in the fourth grade and has become more of a family than a team."

The team is currently coached by Rising Stars Executive Director Dan Gimpel, whom Paul Savramis considers another example of how the program's past creates its future.

"Danny played for me in high school and stayed with the program through his All-American college career," Paul Savramis says. "Today, he has been leading Rising Stars for 24 years."

Gimpel shares Paul Savramis’ philosophy of building teams from within, and he has returned to coaching the program's flagship teams to reinforce that commitment.

Paul Savramis also points to the current second-grade team, which won its first AAU Metropolis Championship this year while finishing undefeated in its first season together.

"That's a perfect example of team building for us," Paul Savramis says. "This group began as campers and participants together in Little Stars."

Little Stars introduces children to basketball while emphasizing fun, fundamental movement skills, and, most importantly, building friendships through the game. Those early experiences form the foundation for what Rising Stars looks for in successful teams as players continue to grow.

"The lesson I've learned," Paul Savramis says, "is that when programs constantly recruit or take players from one another for a weekend or a tournament, they're missing some of the most important ingredients—chemistry, teamwork, and learning to work together toward a common goal."

"If kids never have the opportunity to truly know each other, their team, or the program over time, then they're simply playing as individuals, one game at a time. That's not the best formula for success."

Paul Savramis believes that philosophy is evident in the way Dan Gimpel's 16U team…and Rising Stars' other flagship teams:play.

"Dan Gimpel's 16U team doesn't play one-on-one basketball. They play as one. And they all play for Danny because they believe in him, they believe in each other, and, as I always say, they believe in Rising Stars."

According to Paul Savramis, this approach has produced the program's most successful competitive season to date.

"This has been our most successful year as a program because of that way of thinking. Success doesn't just make a team look good—it makes every player look better."

For Paul Savramis, the philosophy extends well beyond the basketball court.

He points out that many of Rising Stars' directors, coaches, board members, and staff members are former Rising Stars players themselves.

"It's all about longevity and development," Paul Savramis says. "I can't tell you what a great feeling it is to walk into a facility that teamwork, loyalty, and commitment to the ideals of a program helped build. You look at a wall filled with photos of the people who have helped build Rising Stars over the past 30 years. As I reach the point where I'm able to hand more responsibility over to those people, the reward of seeing those faces—and continuing to watch our teams accomplish what they are accomplishing—is truly immeasurable.